On Monday, Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs warned that the expansion of the Hamas-Israel war on “other fronts” is becoming “inevitable,” and “preemptive action” could be expected “in the coming hours.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian declared on state television Monday that Israel will not be allowed to take any additional action in the Gaza Strip without major consequences.
“Leaders of the resistance will not allow [Israel] to take any action in Gaza … All options are open and we cannot be indifferent to the war crimes committed against the people of Gaza,” Amirabdollahian said, as translated by Reuters.
“The resistance front is capable of waging a long-term war with [Israel] … in the coming hours, we can expect a preemptive action by the resistance front,” he added. “If the crimes in Gaza do not stop immediately, new fronts will be opened.”
Amirabdollahian issued further warnings on X later Monday, posting that time is running out for political solutions to the war.
“Today I talked with my colleagues in Malaysia , Tunisia and Pakistan,” he wrote. “It was emphasized on the need to immediately stop the killings and war crimes of the Zionists in Gaza and to send humanitarian aid to this region. I stated that the time for political solutions is running out and the possible expansion of the war on other fronts is approaching the inevitable stage.”
“We emphasized the necessity of immediately stopping the genocide and war crimes committed by the Zionists in Gaza and expediting the sending of humanitarian aid to it,” Amirabdollahian added in a subsequent post. “I said that time for political solutions is running out and that the possibility of expanding the scope of the war on other fronts is approaching the stage that cannot be avoided.”
Over the weekend, Amirabdollahian met in Qatar with Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh.
In another worrisome development, the Islamic Republic’s official international broadcasting radio network on Monday declared in Arabic that “The victory of Allah is near.”
At least 2,808 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza, and more than 1,400 people were killed by Hamas terrorists during the sneak attack in Israel on Oct. 7.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Imam Sayyid Ali Khamenei celebrated the Hamas operation on X: “Whatever crimes the Zionist regime commits will fail to compensate for its disgraceful defeat during the Al-Aqsa Storm operation.”
Khamenei also warned Tuesday that if Israel continued to bomb Gaza, “no one will be able to stop the Muslims and the resistance forces.”
On Tuesday, Amirabdollahian blamed the United States for the ongoing hostilities in a phone conversation with the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.
The Iranian foreign minister reportedly said “the United States’ non-constructive policies and encouraging the Zionist regime to stage more strikes against civilians in Gaza is an important factor in the continuation and spread of the war.”
Khamenei also took aim at the United States on Tuesday, declaring that “the U.S. must be held responsible” for its support for Israel.
“Our numerous intelligence reports show that the US is formulating the Zionist regime’s current policy, and what is being done is governed by US policymaking,” he posted on X. “The US must be held responsible for this situation.”
In response to Iran’s threatening statements, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby claimed on NBC’s TODAY that there is “no specific indication” that Iran, or anybody else, “is preparing to widen and deepen this conflict” in Israel.
Update:
Tuesday evening, the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Syria posted on X a threatening message in Hebrew: “time is up.”